Taxing the working poor

The political origins and economic consequences of taxing low wages

Achim Kemmerling

Edward Elgar Publishing 2009. 160 s.

Bogomtale fra forlaget.

In most industrialised countries the tax burden of poor people has increased dramatically over the last few decades. This book analyses both the political origins of this increase and its consequences for the labour market. It shows that tax-based redistribution and employment are not incompatible, and that the shift away from redistribution has not occurred on grounds of economic efficiency. Achim Kemmerling goes on to illustrate that a long-term shift from capital to labour taxation has provoked conflicts of interests between workers which have weakened the political cause of tax-based redistribution.